The present invention relates generally to printing of photographs from digital images and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for printing enlarged photographs from digital images using either existing photographic enlargement equipment or new enlargement equipment.
A current photographic enlarger (see FIG. 1), also called projection printer, in photography, is a device for producing a photographic print or negative larger than the original negative or transparency in a dark room environment. The modern enlarger consists of a projection assembly attached to a vertical column that is mounted on a horizontal base. The projection assembly includes an enclosed illumination system, a film carrier or holder for positioning and flattening the film, a lens for projecting the image onto the base (which holds a photosensitive printing paper), and a mechanism for focusing the image onto the paper. The entire assembly can be raised or lowered in a track on the column to adjust the size of the print by manual controls. Once the enlarged image is captured on the photosensitive printing paper, that paper is then processed through a print development stage in the dark room.
With the advent of digital cameras and smartphones, there is no longer any actual “film” to be placed in the enlarger device. Instead, enlargements of digital photographs are achieved using liquid crystal displays (LCDs) installed in the enlarger devices that can configure the digital data under the enlarger's illumination/lens system. Examples of such enlargers, or other photograph development equipment, using LCDs are shown in the following: U.S. Pat. No. 6,741,325 (Yamamoto); U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,814 (Mastumoto); U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2003/0147129 (Gohner); 2011/0249248 (Gu); Japanese Patent No. JP6043551A (Bueruneru, et al.); Chinese Patent No. CN 1945426 (Wu, et al.); WO 03/053696 (Carima).
While the aforementioned devices may be generally suitable for their intended purposes, they suffer from several drawbacks, e.g., photograph enthusiasts do not want to forego the ability to enlarge film-based photographs as well as digital photographs. Thus, there remains a need for having a photograph enlarger device that has an interchangeable film carrier and LCD stage. Furthermore, these same photograph enthusiasts want to be able to reproduce the precise enlargement settings (e.g., the illumination/lens height, aperture settings, timing of exposure, etc.) without a lot of trial and error. Thus, there also remains a further need for automatically controlling the enlarger device settings and to be able to do so using wireless communication with the enlarger device.
Finally, there also remains a need to provide an alternative digital photograph enlarger which also comprises automatic and wireless adjustment but uses a laser projector which is more compact and consolidated than an interchangeable film carrier-LCD stage enlarger. The subject invention addresses the needs of the prior art.
All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.